Repurposed Interface, Repurposed Medium, Repurposed Content

Gibson, Stephen (2017) Repurposed Interface, Repurposed Medium, Repurposed Content. Proceedings of the 3rd Biennial Research Through Design Conference. pp. 535-551.

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Abstract

This physical computing project proposes a circle of re-purposing, in which both the interface and content are repurposed, and portions of the content are updated according to geographical location of its exhibition. The artefact employed is a repurposed bicycle intended to navigate computer-based environments. There is a history of cycle repurposing for this intention, from Jeffrey Shaw’s Media Art project The Legible City to commercial sports cycle simulators such as Tacx; however, very few projects propose a repurposing of a cycle interface along with the content, as well as a geographically-specific repurposing. The main research concern continues a 25-year project by the author into the formal and material uses of ‘found, sampled and stolen’ (Media N, 2012) objects. While this concept has been explored in extensive terms in relation to Sound and Media Art, in Interaction Design the uses of repurposed materials has yet to be extensively theorised. This paper proposes a provocation in the form of a repurposed artefact, not merely for the purpose of denying originality, but as a means of illustrating how repurposing can create a skewed version of the original(s) and therefore create new meaning. In the face of limited resources, repurposing also serves as a potentially advantageous option for Interaction Designers.

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